Exam 2: Cognitive Psych Chapters 5-8

a. short term memory: holds 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds; stores small amounts of info for a brief duration

b. sensory memory: retention, for brief periods of time, of the effects of sensory stimulation. Information decays very quickly.

c. echoic memory: brief sensory memory of the things that we hear, Limited capacity, lasts a couple of seconds; Responsible for persistence of sound

d. iconic memory: : brief sensory memory of the things that we see, Holds quite a bit but lasts a fraction of a second, Responsible for persistence of vision

e. metacognition: Cognitive processes involved in monitoring and controlling one’s own cognitive processes, Components include knowledge about strategies and when to use them, use of metacognitive skills/strategies, and cognitive monitoring and assessment. Can also be defined as: thinking about your own thinking

f. metamemory: Cognitive processes involved in monitoring and controlling one’s own memory Can also be defined as: knowing what you know; being able to assess your own memory; knowing how your memory works and applying that knowledge; Subtype of metacognition

/

g. elaborative encoding: Use of meaning of information (which requires connections to prior knowledge in LTM), in the process of encoding new info into LTM

h. semantic encoding: By the time we encode information into LTM, we have usually processed the meaning of it

i. maintenance rehearsal: Repetition of stimuli to maintain info in STM without consideration of meaning. May or may not transfer the info to LTM

j. retrieval: Processes that move information out of LTM; transfer of info from LTM to working memory or STM

k. retrieval cue: Retrieval cues are very important, Many of our failures of memory are failures to retrieve

l. proactive or retroactive interference: old memories interfere with recall of new information

m. Retroactive interference: new memories interfere with recall of old information

n. episodic memory: Event memories (first kiss, 6th birthday)

memory intact, can remember past events and create new event memories